SO....when I ask you if you have ever heard of a "divining rod", most of you probably wouldn't know unless you've played some ingenuous role-playing game or read a fantasy or criminal investigation book. However, I was taught about divining rods from my dad, and it's a memory I remember often and will never forget. My dad and I would go for walks down by the canal when I was growing up. We'd walk along and he'd teach me things that his dad taught him like what crab apples are, the berries in the wild that you could and could not eat, what poison ivy looks like, how to get a "whistle pig" a.k.a groundhog to stand up so you can get a better shot, and what a divining rod is. We were walking along and he saw a stick on the ground that was thicker than most and shaped in the form of a "Y". He asked me if I knew what people used a divining rod for, and of course, I had no clue. He explained that sticks in this shape could be held by turning your hands outward and placing one hand on each end of the "Y" tails and have the end pointed upward and away from your body. What??!! I couldn't understand why anyone would feel the need to do this....but my dad took the stick, placed his hands on the tails, and slowed his walk. All of a sudden he stopped and the point of the stick slowly pulled downward towards the ground. HOLY CRAPOLA! I couldn't believe that the stick had moved all on its own; it had to be my dad playing a trick on me.
Then my dad explained that divining rods were used (and a modified version still is) to detect water and minerals below the ground. When the divining rod pulls down, there is probably water and/or minerals flowing below the surface. Many centuries ago, people used divining rods to find good, solid places to build homes on....nobody wants to build a house on a moving water source underneath the ground! He further explained that many utility companies use similar, modified version to detect water so they know where NOT to dig. I am sure that nowadays they just point a computer at it and it tells them what lies beneath, amount, quality, etc., etc. Ever since that day, I've thought about that time a lot, and I've wondered why exactly they were called "divining" rods.
I think I have my answer. You see, four months ago, my life turned on a dime. I found myself amidst a great deal of loss. I was looking for a job, I had lost my very best friend, we were losing our savings by the minute, and I lost my sense of stability in life. It appeared to be the lowest point of my adult life thus far. But something beautiful rose from that horrific, dirty, ugly pile of rubble that I was sitting on.
God took it as an opportunity to place a divining rod in my hands so that I could find my source of living water and rich treasures again....I needed to find my way back to Him. I had to make a mental, emotional, and physical effort to slow down on my life walk. Through reading, studying, and understanding His word and the true depth of Christ's sacrifice for me, I was lead through facing demons and sins I'd been carrying for too long that were too heavy. I found that my value, worth, and acceptance is NOT founded on the apocryphal judgements that others have of me, they're founded on the exculpatory love and sacrifice of Christ. I've learned that having to let go of someone you love dearly, in spite of the fervid and egregious pain, is often the best thing you can do for them. Their choice are not my choices, their paths are not my paths, so staying a part of their past is the best thing for their future. I've learned that facing sin head on is a cathartic, exhausting act of faith that once complete, allows God the ability to fill the empty space and burgeon something even more beautiful than we can imagine. Lost in an abeyance, God saw it necessary to place a divining rod, His word, into my hands to ensure I'd feast on the rich, satisfying streams of living water and nurturing food found ONLY in Him.
Life can develop into an amalgamation of routines, schedules, and "normalcy", and when we get good at it....we can get moving pretty fast. We can blow off the gentle taps on the shoulder from God and fall prey to believing that "we've got this" and allow ourselves to go down paths that lead to selfish belief systems and dark, lonely places. Being alone isn't a bad thing, it's what you tell yourself or what you hear when you're alone that either drives you further into loss or helps you up and back to the path. But if you don't slow down and utilize your divining rod, you're merely guessing at where the good stuff is. You will be left thirsty, malnourished, and wandering aimlessly for answers. I've discovered that once you slow down and rely on His word and plan, you find the living water and nourishment, rich with forgiveness, love, fun, friendship, blessings, and so much more. Thank you dad, for always teaching me ways back to the path.
